CW0804: American Spitfire – Camouflage and Markings, Part 2
This, the second part of ‘American Spitfire – Camouflage and Markings’ briefly covers the Eagle Squadrons with their standard RAF camouflage and markings. It leads on to the 4th Fighter Group and then the 52nd Fighter Group which, like the 31st FG covered in Part I, operated Spitfires in a variety of colour schemes over a two year period. While the Group initially retained RAF camouflage with added American National insignia; by the time they were in Italy a variety of low and high altitude schemes were in evidence. Add to this the Group’s squadron badges and distinct style of marking a pilots name on an aircraft and you have some of the most varied Spitfire colour schemes of the Second World War. The 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, with its PRU Blue Spitfire PR Mk XIs and the 67th RG are then covered, with many previously unpublished photographs. Mention is also made of evaluation aircraft used by the US Navy and USAAF. Throughout the book the phrase ‘nominal diameter’ is used when discussing the size of USAAF national insignia. This refers to the diameter of the white-star-on-blue-disc portion of the insignia, excluding any yellow, red or blue outer border.